Stroke patients misdiagnosed by 999 system (From This is Hampshire)

Stroke patients misdiagnosed by 999 system

8:20am Sunday 7th June 2009 in

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MORE than half of stroke patients taken to Basingstoke hospital by ambulance were misdiagnosed by the 999 call system, a new study reveals.

Potentially vital emergency care was delayed after computer software used by call-handlers at South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SCAS) misdiagnosed stroke victims.

During the six-month study (December 2006 to May 2007), of almost 5,000 patients admitted to Basingstoke hospital by ambulance, 126 were subsequently diagnosed by a doctor as having had |a stroke.

But the call-handling computer software, called Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch Software (AMPDS) only picked up 60 patients who had had a stroke. The remaining 66 were given another diagnosis.

Following the study, which was published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, the authors – SCAS – called for a strengthening of the system.

Michelle Ullett, communications manager at SCAS, said: “Over the last year SCAS has made significant improvements in the service that is provided to patients in the area.”

She said an upgraded system now meant patients were assessed more accurately.

AMPDS was developed to help call-takers, most of whom have no medical training, to prioritise symptoms with a set of questions.

Joe Korner, director of communications for The Stroke Association, said: “Strokes should always be treated as a medical emergency.

“Getting to hospital promptly after the onset of symptoms enables the patient to receive a brain scan to determine the type of stroke they have suffered.

“Arriving at hospital by ambulance is the best way to get access to acute stroke care and help reduce the risk of major disability.”